Cybersecurity has become an essential aspect of the digital world, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and critical infrastructure. As technological advancements accelerate, the threats in cyberspace have also grown, making security a primary concern for organizations across industries. The increasing reliance on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and interconnected networks has created new challenges that demand innovative approaches to security. With businesses, governments, and individuals investing heavily in cybersecurity measures, the industry continues to grow with a strong focus on proactive risk management, data protection, and resilient security frameworks. The financial impact of cybercrime has surged, making cybersecurity a technological necessity and an economic imperative.
Burke Stephenson, the ThinkShield Cybersecurity Sales Manager for the EMEA region in Lenovo, brings a strategic and forward-thinking approach to cybersecurity. He believes successful leaders must go beyond conventional strategies and embrace entrepreneurial thinking to drive growth and innovation. His leadership philosophy revolves around continuous evaluation and improvement, ensuring that security measures remain adaptable and practical. Burke focuses on assembling a team of individuals passionate about tackling challenges and redefining cybersecurity solutions. His ability to anticipate trends and implement effective strategies positions him as a key figure in shaping the future of cybersecurity.
Lenovo, a global leader in technology solutions, has taken a decisive step in addressing cybersecurity challenges through its innovative ThinkShield portfolio. While traditionally recognized for its hardware and computing solutions, the company has expanded its focus to include robust security offerings that protect businesses from growing threats. With a strong commitment to enhancing cyber resilience, Lenovo provides comprehensive security assessments, advanced threat detection, and advanced protection mechanisms. By integrating security at every level of its technology ecosystem, Lenovo ensures that organizations have the necessary tools to defend against cyber threats and maintain operational integrity in a progressively digital world.
Let’s explore Burke’s holistic approach to cybersecurity and risk mitigation:
The Growing Importance of Cybersecurity
Burke has always aspired to work with computers and technology. As advancements in capabilities continue to increase at an accelerating pace, cybersecurity has emerged as one of the most exciting and important technology fields that must be addressed correctly. For example, with the recent focus and advancements in AI, the primary concern heard from CIOs and executives is cybersecurity. To Burke, cybersecurity is a fascinating and limitless field.
Globally, the expected spending on cybersecurity in 2024 was around $9.5 trillion (USD). To put that into perspective, using the World Economic Forum’s 2024 list of the top 10 countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP), cybersecurity ranks #3 behind the United States ($28.78 trillion) and China ($18.54 trillion). The following country with the highest GDP is Germany ($4.59 trillion). With such substantial spending on cybersecurity and cybercrime, it is clear that cybersecurity is an exciting and innovative field that will continue to be essential for future generations.
Building a Like-Minded, Innovative Team
In Burke’s view, “Great minds don’t think alike. Great minds think of something new and different”. Leaders who can look beyond the existing status quo and find new and innovative ways to drive interest in what is being provided will be the leaders who achieve that desired growth. Burke constantly evaluates the current position, then updates and looks for new and improved ways to make it better, faster, and firmer.
Burke believes in setting, constantly evaluating, and growing short–, mid-, and long-term personal and professional goals. He highlights, “Where you are today and where you want to go as an individual is just as important as doing it for the company you work for and as a leader. Successful results are also achieved by building and surrounding yourself with a team of like-minded people who don’t fit into a mold and are excited with the challenges of coming up with ideas to push the thresholds of where we are today.”
Trusting Teams to Perform and Grow
Burke’s leadership philosophy centers on how people are treated. Motivation for a team begins with respect. Without respect from the team, one cannot be a leader, regardless of title or position. A true leader must lead from the front, never asking the team to do anything they wouldn’t do themselves and being right there beside them helping.
Building personal connections and relationships with everyone is also key. Connecting with each person individually helps build cohesion and drive within and between people, ultimately creating record-breaking teams. Trusting the team is essential. They were hired to perform at a certain level, so micromanaging them is unnecessary. When teams are allowed to grow and explore, they deliver more than those who are told what to do and how to do it, and they are also happier.
Applying Military-Grade Security Knowledge
Burke’s experience with government, military, and coalition sectors forms the foundation for understanding cybersecurity. Working for and supporting these sectors has provided a depth of knowledge that underscores why security is essential in all activities. Governments and militaries have stringent security controls for apparent reasons. Having worked in and with these types of organizations provides Burke with invaluable insight and understanding that can be applied to any organization.
Adapting Global Success Strategies to EMEA
He enjoys speaking with peers in other geographies and listening to their struggles about how intricate it is to manage their region. Burke manages 116 different countries in EMEA, each one unique. Many have their language, culture, and ways of doing business. Even then, what peers do to be successful doesn’t always translate to EMEA.
Considering the current trends and solutions available, factoring in the marketing hype that these solutions and trends drive, both good and bad, and understanding the unique nuances of a region like EMEA is not easy. Luckily, Burke has always aligned with some of the best cybersecurity solutions, some of which are unique in the cybersecurity they provide. It helps when one or more one-of-a-kind solutions are essential for every customer. The hardest part is getting that knowledge and information into each market and language.
Elevating Cyber Resilience with Unique Technologies
According to Burke, as the business environment changes, the problem lies in the overhyped market and numerous solutions trying to position sales strategies. There are many reasonable solutions, but very few great ones. A key strategy is never to be complacent and to remain open-minded to new technologies, capabilities, and companies. Lenovo is not known for cybersecurity, but what Burke can provide could make the difference between a successful cyberattack and a failed one.
Burke stresses, “If we look at cyberattacks over the past decade, we see a common thread of investing heavily in cybersecurity solutions that, in many instances, are the vector used to initiate a breach. This is why we must be open-minded and constantly evaluate and improve.” That is the true nature of cybersecurity. It is never just about implementing a solution or capability and being done. Cybersecurity requires constant evaluation and improvement. For any business, the first step is establishing that baseline, a foundation.
Using the familiar analogy of building a house, if the foundation is not established and sturdy enough to support the rest of the building, no matter what is built, it will fall. That foundation is essential to the success of the overall structure—just like cybersecurity. This is why Burke enjoys the work, as it involves aligning with unique technologies that can elevate any organization’s cyber posture to the next level of cyber resilience.
Continuous Improvement in Cybersecurity Practices
While government and military sectors have stringent cybersecurity requirements, the fundamental principles remain the same across industries. For any business, the first step is conducting a formal Security Risk Assessment (SRA) to establish a baseline. This assessment helps identify strengths and, more importantly, critical gaps in cybersecurity. Many regulations and frameworks require an independent third-party SRA to ensure compliance and resilience against emerging threats. Additionally, organizations can benefit from peer benchmarking to understand how their security posture compares to industry standards.
Securing the digital supply chain is another crucial step. Identifying all connected devices—whether IT, OT, IoT, or IIoT—including MAC-less and IP-less devices, as well as shadow IT, helps reduce vulnerabilities. A key challenge for many Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) is the uncertainty surrounding what is connected to their networks. Implementing visibility and asset management solutions can help eliminate blind spots and provide a security risk score for each device.
Beyond asset identification, ensuring firmware integrity is essential. Validating every component and its firmware against the manufacturer’s original configuration reduces the risk of compromise. Firmware security has been a growing concern, with agencies like the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) highlighting it as a top attack vector in recent years due to its difficulty in monitoring and protecting. Implementing data defense strategies to prevent phishing and ransomware further strengthens an organization’s security posture.
Addressing these fundamental cybersecurity gaps is a continuous process. Once an organization establishes a strong baseline, the focus should shift toward evolving threats and emerging solutions. Regular reassessments, threat intelligence monitoring, and proactive mitigation strategies help organizations stay ahead of cyber adversaries. Cybersecurity is not a one-time effort but an ongoing commitment to improvement and resilience.
Ensuring Device and Firmware Integrity
Burke highlights the importance of knowing your current position to grow, improve, and mature cybersecurity. Emphasis is placed on having a formal and documented recovery plan. It is imperative to have a formal and documented baseline, which is often missing in cybersecurity postures today. One of the most significant issues is detecting every hardware device on the network.
Most IT teams and cyber professionals are unaware that this can be done and include a risk score for each device on their network. Next is ensuring the integrity and authenticity of each device and the firmware of each unique component inside that device with the original manufacturer. These capabilities must be vendor-agnostic, ensuring they support every environment. Here is Burke’s baseline checklist of five simple steps to establish that foundational baseline:
- Conduct a formal Security Risk Assessment
- Conduct an Endpoint Coverage Gaps Analysis and peer benchmarking.
- Conduct a complete discovery of Hardware and validate integrity / Supply Chain Verification
- Conduct a complete discovery of Firmware and validate integrity and versions / Supply Chain Verification
- Conduct a Microsoft Cybersecurity Assessment Workshop
Embracing Next-Generation Cybersecurity Technologies
Burke is excited about the future of cybersecurity. Reflecting on the past, present, and future, Burke notes the emerging technology advancements and their potential. Technology is at the heart of these achievements, from exploring space and the depths of the oceans to discovering new cures for diseases and cancer. Cybersecurity is a crucial part of these advancements and discoveries. Without it, future advancements could do more harm than good. This field is open to current and future generations to take us beyond the imaginable.
As a leader, Burke’s goals are to avoid complacency and not accept yesterday’s and today’s status quo cybersecurity solutions. Burke seeks to advance next-generation technologies and capabilities. Excited to continue working with the fantastic cybersecurity solutions available today, Burke looks forward to new groundbreaking ones as they are discovered. Evaluate and improve—it works for Burke, too!
